New air alliance between Ford Airport, business community aims to lower travel costs

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The relationship between the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and the West Michigan business community is starting anew.

Airport officials recently announced they will explore a new partnership with The Right Place Inc. in an effort to lower the cost of travel for customers and connect West Michigan with additional markets across the country. Executive Director Brian Ryks said the decision is a continuation of the work accomplished by Dick DeVos' Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan, which no longer meets as of late 2013.

"Service, retention and expansion is always a top priority at any airport," Ryks said. 

On the day the alliance was formed, Jan. 27, 2010, AirTran Airways announced they would schedule routes to and from Grand Rapids — it wasn't exactly a coincidence. At the time, DeVos said his group of business leaders helped lure AirTran after a "prominent" West Michigan resident approached them about starting service.

Frontier Airlines began operations later that year and was touted as another success before it pulled out of the market altogether in summer 2013. Its absence was likely overshadowed by the news Southwest Airlines would begin operations and absorb AirTran's service. 

DeVos called Southwest "the whopper" on the line.

"(The alliance) was an effort to try to bring in low cost carrier service to Grand Rapids and West Michigan, and the success was really getting AirTran here (in 2010)," Ryks said. "You need that business community engaged ... the bottom line is that businesses are using that service."

The Ford Airport board expressed optimism that the success of the air alliance made enough of a splash to explore yet another alliance, Ryks said. Its main goals are to retain and expand air service, better the airport's facilities and spur the business community in the region. 

In turn, Ryks explained it could result in lower costs for flyers.
Birgit Klohs, president and CEO of The Right Place Inc., also sits on the Ford Airport board and said it would be "silly" that her interactions with both present a conflict. Rather, her organization and its consortium of regional businesses always have worked closely with the airport. A new alliance would continue the legacy of DeVos', with the goal of attracting new businesses to exclaim the importance of a regional airport hub like Ford Airport.
Klohs hopes it is established this summer.

"We're taking this on because it's an economic development question," Klohs said. "(The airport) is the often the first entry for many into our community, and we want to make sure it's the best it can be."
 
More: West Michigan business leaders form Regional Air Alliance to bring cheaper fares, better connections to Grand Rapids airport

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